Nine from area trace service club’s legacy
Chandler Service Club’s 68th Annual Charity Ball will be Saturday, April 6 at The Pointe South Mountain Resort. The evening will feature dinner, dancing and the presentation and recognition of 35 flower girls for 2001-2002.
The debutante ball is one of the annual fundraising events sponsored by the Chandler Service Club and is the second-oldest charity ball in Arizona. The 50th Golden Anniversary of the Flower Girl program will be celebrated at the 68th annual Charity Ball.
Flower girls from the Kyrene Corridor include:
Megan Bruck and Julie Cole, students at Xavier High School;
Megan Foster, Danelle Vance and Kara Wilkinson, students at Seton Catholic High School;
Megan Hanley and Shannon Robb, students at Corona del Sol High School; and
Jennifer Savory, a student at Valley Christian High School.
This year's group of flower girls includes five Legacy flower girls. They are the daughters, granddaughters or great granddaughters of Chandler Service Club members.
Legacy honorees from the Kyrene Corridor are Megan Bruck and Danelle Vance. Bruck is the daughter of member Julia Bruck. Vance is the daughter of member Denise Vance.
The presentation of the Sherry Cancino Flower Girl Scholarship will be made by Cancino family members at the ball.
The $1,000 scholarship honors the memory of the Life Member who lost her battle with cancer in 1999.
Cancino was a dedicated volunteer and the mother of four Flower Girls. The scholarship is awarded to the Flower Girl who has demonstrated outstanding service to the community and enthusiastic participation in the Flower Girl Program.
The Flower Girl program became a part of the Chandler Service Club in 1952. High School aged daughters and granddaughters of members were invited to attend the annual Charity Ball to sell corsages.
As the program evolved, it is now limited to high school seniors in the community invited by a Club member to participate. The program has grown into a yearlong program of self-improvement and safety seminars, social opportunities, service projects and fun activities.
The Chandler Service Club was started in 1933 by a group of eight women who provided hot lunches for Chandler school children.
The organization focuses its efforts locally to benefit causes that help children, seniors and others in need in the area. Since 1979, Chandler Service Club has contributed over $743,000 to area charities such as Pathways Transitional Housing Program, Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods (ICAN), Chandler Educational Foundation, Children of Promise Program and Chandler/Gilbert YMCA. In addition, the organization contributes and participates in the Club's Community Scholarship Fund, college scholarships for high school seniors, music camp scholarships for junior high and high school students, and the Club's "Warm Feet Warm Hearts" shoe and jacket program for school children.